The Rise of Legal Insurance Plans and How You Can Use Them to Your Advantage

We live in a world where accidents are frequent and disputes are inevitable. Insurance exists to help insulate you from overwhelming costs when these unexpected situations arise.

Most people are familiar with some form of insurance coverage. Health insurance covers your medical bills when you get sick, car insurance assists with the financial burden in the aftermath of a car accident, and homeowners’ insurance protects your property when a disaster strikes. 

But what about when you have a legal issue? 

In this article, we’ll address all your questions about legal insurance plans and explain how Lyda Law Firm can help you get the most out of your coverage.

What Is Legal/Lawyer Insurance?

Whether you’re trying to sue someone or you’re the one being sued, odds are that you are going to need to hire an attorney. Traditionally, getting involved in a legal dispute has meant dealing with the additional stresses of searching for an attorney with the expertise to handle your legal issue and then considering whether your claim is even worth racking up the costly attorneys’ fees.

However, legal insurance ensures that those stressors are no longer yours to carry.

Legal insurance, which is sometimes referred to as “lawyer insurance,” “group legal services insurance,” or “personal legal insurance,” is a form of insurance coverage that gives you direct access to affordable legal services in your area—sometimes even at no out-of-pocket cost to you. With relatively low premiums and considerable coverage, legal insurance helps level the playing field—especially for small dollar disputes. 

How Does it Work?

Legal insurance creates a smooth and seamless way for you to obtain legal advice and/or representation when the need arises. 

Legal insurance coverage may be available to you as part of the benefits package offered through your employer, or you may be able to obtain a legal insurance plan on your own. 

Without an employer-sponsored legal insurance plan or a personal legal insurance plan, you may still be able to obtain legal assistance through services similar to legal insurance. Some companies operate as referral services for legal assistance, and others provide limited pre-paid plans or subscriptions for a fixed number of hours of legal services. 

However, we most commonly encounter clients with a group legal plan through their employer.

Employer-Sponsored Legal Plans

When legal insurance is offered as an employee benefit, it operates very similarly to other employer-sponsored benefits. Like with health or dental coverage, employer-sponsored legal plans are an opt-in benefit, and employees may have the option to choose from a couple different option. 

Because employers often have the ability to customize the legal insurance plans that they make available to you, your specific coverage may vary from employer to employer, and plan to plan. 

Through your employer-sponsored legal plan, you pay a low-cost premium in exchange for continued access to a network of quality attorneys in your area, who can assist you with a range of covered legal issues when you need it. Sometimes, these employer-sponsored plans even extend coverage to your spouse and dependents. 

Additionally, unlike health insurance, legal insurance typically doesn’t require any co-payments or deductibles. 

Personal Legal Insurance Plans 

If you don’t have access to legal insurance through your employer, there are still other options available to you. 

For example, there are a number of personal legal insurance plans you can sign up for through third-party providers. These programs can connect you with attorneys when you have a legal question or issue for a monthly or annual fee. However, the scope of services included in many of these personal legal insurance plans is often much more limited than what you might have access to through an employee-sponsored legal insurance plan. 

Additionally, in these types of personal legal insurance plans, you may not have access to a specific attorney for all of your legal issues. Rather, you might be connected to a different lawyer each time you have a legal question, or a new issue arises.

Legal Subscription Services

Another option to consider might be a legal subscription plan directly through a law firm in your area. These days, a growing number of law firms have created legal subscription plans to help increase access to legal services for individuals at an affordable cost. 

At Lyda Law Firm, we offer a number of plans ranging from 3-month to 12-month terms and starting from as low as $150/month. With these plans, you get access to a set number of hours of legal service from one of our attorneys each month during your subscription term.

If you don’t have access to an employer-sponsored legal insurance plan but still want to help protect yourself for when the unexpected happens, a legal subscription plan can be a great option. 

Common Insurance Providers We Work With

Lyda Law Firm handles a wide variety of cases for legal insurance clients every day. Our firm most frequently assists legal insurance clients through ARAG Legal Insurance and Metlife/Hyatt Legal*.

*Hyatt Legal Plan recently underwent a name change and is now known as Metlife/Metlaw. If you had coverage under Hyatt Legal Plan and have remained a member, it is unlikely that your coverage has changed. However, if you are unsure or have any additional questions about your coverage, you should contact your human resources department, or Metlife, directly, today. 

What Does My ARAG Legal Insurance Plan or MetLife/Hyatt Legal Plan Cover? 

Just like with any other form of insurance, not all legal insurance coverage is the same. Your coverage may vary based on your legal insurance provider, the group plan provided through your employer, and/or the specific plan you have selected. 

However, below we have provided a list of some of the common case types that tend to be covered and that our firm handles.

Consumer protection disputes: These disputes typically arise when a business engages in unfair, deceptive, and/or fraudulent business practices. If you are a customer that has been harmed or defrauded by a business, your legal insurance might be able to help you. 

Contractor disputes: Sometimes, a contractor fails to complete, or even start the work they were hired to do. When this occurs, legal action might be necessary to recover any money you’ve paid or cover the costs of hiring a new contractor to complete the work. 

Real estate transactions: When purchasing a new home, the documents can sometimes be wordy and confusing. With legal insurance, you can have a network attorney review your documents to let you know your rights and risks.

Contract review and negotiation: If you’re considering signing a contract or a new lease, it might be helpful to have an attorney present to explain the terms of the agreement. If you’re still in the negotiation phase, having an attorney present to represent your interests can help get you the best outcome. 

Landlord/tenant disputes: Whether your landlord is wrongfully withholding your security deposit, or your tenant has trashed your property, legal insurance can help you find the right attorney to help you resolve your dispute. 

Neighbor disputes: Unfortunately, all sorts of dispute can arise between you and your neighbor. If you find yourself in a dispute with your neighbor over the boundary line or excessive noise, legal insurance might be able to help. 

Estate planning: Though estate planning can be a touchy subject, it is important to make a plan for your assets so you can be prepared for the unexpected. Whether you have never had a will drafted, or you just haven’t had a chance to update your will after substantial life changes, legal insurance can help. 

For information about the details of your coverage, refer to your legal plan. If you have questions about whether Lyda Law Firm’s legal services are covered by your legal insurance plan, give our team a call today. 

How Does an ARAG Legal Plan Differ from a MetLife/Hyatt Legal Plan? 

Both ARAG Legal Insurance and Metlife/Hyatt Legal provide great benefits to their members. While both legal insurance providers have their own system, neither is necessarily better than the other. 

Ultimately, your legal insurance coverage will hinge on the group plan available through your employer, and the specific plan you have selected. Contact your human resources department or your insurer for specific coverage questions.

Use Your Legal Insurance Today

As part of Lyda Law Firm’s mission to increase access to high quality legal services, we provide legal assistance to individuals located in Colorado, Washington, Texas, and California for a wide variety of legal matters. 

Lyda Law Firm is a proud member of the ARAG attorney network, and we also accept legal insurance plans through MetLife and Texas Legal for a variety of important legal services.

If you are covered by an employer-sponsored legal insurance plan and have a legal question or dispute that you need assistance with, contact us today to get the process started. We accept legal insurance in several states, including California, Texas, Washington (Seattle/Bellevue/Redmond area), and Colorado.

If you are not sure if you are covered, we recommend that you connect with your employer’s human resource department to get more information.

If you are not covered, Lyda Law Firm offers transparent pricing and flat-fee options are a variety of services. Check out our fees page for more information.

This article is for educational and entertainment purposes only. This is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such. Every case is different. Consult a licensed professional in your state. This site and its contents may contain attorney advertising. Viewing this website or its content does not create an attorney-client relationship with Lyda Law Firm or any of its lawyers.